Increased health consciousness and modern lifestyle has spurred the demand for foods and drinks with greater nutrition value which are also enjoyable to drink.
Reference is made to the report by Richards-Rajadurai (Richards-Rajadurai (1990) in RAS/90/002.FAO/UNDP Seafarming Project, Philippines.149-180) wherein, according to FAO, over 30 countries around the world harvest annually about 3.1 to 3.8 million tons wet weight of seaweeds Of this total, half of the quantity is utilized for human consumption and the rest for the production of industrially important phycocolloids such as agar, carrageenan and alginates.
Reference may be made to Chapman, V. J. & Chapman, D. J. (1980), Seaweeds and their Uses, Chapman & Hall, London, wherein details are provided of a wide variety of seaweeds and their uses. Several seaweed extracts are also reported to be useful as foliar spray for improved plant growth.
Reference may be made to the article by Critchley, A. T. (1993) (Seaweed Cultivation and Marine Ranching, M. Ohno and A. T. Critchley (eds), Kanagawa International Fisheries Training Center, Japan International Co-operation Agency, Yokosuka, Japan. pp 1-6) wherein the main types of edible seaweeds listed are Laminaria, Undaria, Porphyra and Monostroma. In Far East Countries (Japan, China, Philippines, Indonesia and Korea) seaweeds are abundantly used as nutritious foods/supplements and have become an important part of their national diet. In particular, Porphyra (popularly known as nori), Laminaria (kombu) and Undaria (wakame) are especially popular and consumed in large quantities.
Like vegetables, seaweeds contain all types of vitamins and antioxidants, including superoxide dismutase and ascorbic acid. Seaweeds are richer in group B vitamins—particularly B12—than their vegetable counterparts. Vitamin A content of seaweeds amounts to half of that in spinach. Dried sheets of Porphyra contain vitamin C in higher proportion than found in raw oranges ((Nisizawa et al., Hydrobiologia 151/152, 1987, 5-29).
Reference may be made to the article entitled “Sea Vegetables for Food and Medicine” by Ryan Drum (www.ryandrum.com/seaxpan1.html). It is stated therein that seaweeds are best used as regular components of a wise diet. Sea vegetables have been consumed regularly by all coastal peoples since the first days. Special harvesting, processing, storage, and eating rituals evolved to meet local needs. The ease of drying sea vegetables in full sunlight, and, their innate long-term stability when kept completely dry permits safe long-term storage and facilitates both personal and commercial transport, And, an almost indefinite shelf-life when stored completely dry and away from light. The article further states that while all seaweeds are edible, many are unpalatable. Reference is also be made in the same article to algal drinks such as “Irish moss”.
Reference is made to the article entitled “Evaluation of the taste and smell of bottled nutritive drinks” by Kataoka et al. (Int. Jour. of Pharmaceutics, 305, 2005, 13-21) wherein it is disclosed that overall palatability of drinks is positively correlated with sourness intensity and fruitiness and negatively correlated with bitterness intensity and the taste of medicinal plants. It is further stated that sourness and bitterness intensity could be predicted by taste sensor whereas fruitiness could be predicted by odor sensor, and that taste sensor and odor sensor are jointly useful in evaluating palatability of a drink.
Reference is made to JP60102179 wherein the preparation of a drink from seaweed is disclosed by T. Naoki. The drink is claimed to have high contents of protein, peptide, amino acid, polysaccharide, inorganic salt, etc. having high nutritive value free from unpleasant characteristic smell of seaweed, and is prepared by hydrolyzing seaweeds such as Nemacystus decipiens with large volumes (10-60 times) of acid or alkali at 100-110° C. for 5-12 h and adding a sweetener or sour seasoning to the hydrolysate solution. The main drawback is that large volumes of acid and alkali are required in the process. Moreover, such drinks are likely to be costly since a sole product is derived from the seaweed. No mention is made of the use of seaweed sap directly for the preparation of drink.
Reference is made to U.S. Pat. No. 6,573,250 wherein Umeda et al. have disclosed the preparation of food or beverage containing fucoidan. prepared from seaweed extract wherein the smell of seaweed is effectively removed with active carbon.
Reference may be made to U.S. Pat. No. 4,328,118 wherein the processing of algae in its natural wet state is described. No mention is made therein of any application as a drink.
Reference is made to U.S. Pat. No. 4,581,233 wherein it is disclosed by Herve et al. that the protoexoplasma of seaweed by a process wherein algae are deep-frozen and thereafter subjected to a cryogrinding (using for example two grinders in series under liquid nitrogen) and then to a rolling operation (with, for example, a cylinder machine) and finally to a homogenization operation. A “mother pulp” is thus obtained of which the constituent particles are approximately between 6 and 20.mu. Said mother pulp is also called “algae cream”. The said mother pulp can be caused to pass over a decanter at high speed, giving thus two products, on the one hand, the solid part or cake which is called “algae base” and, on the other, the decanted liquor or juice which is called “protoexoplasma of algae”. It is claimed that the protoexoplasma of Ascophyllum Nodosum can increase the gamma.-globulin level in human beings.
Reference may also be made to JP64002562 wherein Y. Sadao has disclosed the preparation of a liquid drink and solid food beneficial for health and suitable as a tonic, by crushing aloe, seaweed, garlic, etc., fermenting in a liquid mixture of alcohol, whole rice vinegar, etc., and filtering the product to obtain a transparent liquid drink. No mention is made of the use of seaweed sap directly for the preparation of drink. Moreover, the use of alcohol may not be acceptable to many consumers besides the fact that the product involves too many components.
Reference may be made to the preparation of novel health food and drink containing marine algae by Hagino Hiroshi and Sato Shiho in US2005217596 wherein the use of marine algae powder prepared from Porphyra and Undaria is disclosed. It is claimed therein that the abundant nutritional ingredients and health functional ingredients of these seaweeds is preserved in the granules while the odor contained in the marine algae is effectively abated or reduced. No mention is made of the use of plant sap directly for preparation of drink.
Reference may be made to a seaweed jelly drink by the name of agar alouda sold in Mauritius.
Reference may be made to an article entitled “Jamaican café spices things up” published in the Oct. 2, 2002 issue of Seacoastonline wherein a seaweed drink by the name of Irish Moss is described. The drink is reported to taste like eggnog.
Reference may be made to the article entitled “Kelpie Seaweed Ale” (www.bostonphoenix.com/boston/food_drink/noshing/documents/02556527.htm) wherein it is stated that 500 mL of a seaweed drink by the name of Kelpie is sold for USD4.95.
Reference may be made to a seaweed drink sold by Repechage (www.repechage.com) which presumably assists in overcoming fatigue. 15 tubes of 10 mL each are sold for USD37.00.
Although it is well known that seaweeds can yield nutritional products such products tend to be quite costly since these products have to bear the entire seaweed cost when the seaweed is utilized for the sole purpose of that product. It would be highly desirable to make nutritional products from seaweeds more affordable, ideally by producing such products from any seaweed by-products that can be obtained in large volumes.
The red seaweed, Kappaphycus alvarezii, which grows in tropical waters, is cultivated extensively in countries such as the Philippines and Indonesia as a source of κ-carrageenan. J. G. Lewis, N. F. Stanley and G. G. Guist, in the book, Algae and Human Affairs, C. A. Lembi and J. R. Waaland, Eds., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1990; pp. 218), have reviewed the diverse applications of refined and semi-refined κ-carrageenan. G. H. Thirkelsen (in: Industrial Gums—Polysaccharides and their Derivatives, R. L. Whistler and J. N. BeMiller, Eds., 3rd Edition, Academic Press Inc., New York, 1993, pp 145-180) has also described the diverse applications of carrageenan. κ-Carrageenan is used as a thickening agent in numerous applications such as pet food, fruit jam, toothpaste, and ice cream. No mention is made of any drink prepared from the seaweed.
Reference is made to the article by M. Fayaz et al. entitled “Chemical composition, iron bioavailability and antioxidant activity of Kappaphycus-Alvarezzi (DOTY)” (Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 53[3] (2005) 792-797), wherein some of the nutritional aspects of the Kappaphycus alvarezii seaweed have been discussed. However the studies were conducted on dry seaweed and no reference is made to the preparation of any drink either from the whole plant or from the sap.
It is known that potassium salt—a mineral found in many fruits, vegetables and legumes such as dried peas and beans—may protect against high blood pressure. Presence of potassium in low sodium salt inhibits sodium-induced hypertension. Reference may be made to “The Heinz Handbook of Nutrition” by Benjamin T. Burton, published for H. J. Heinz Co., by McGraw Hill Book Co., second edition, page 132-133, wherein it is mentioned that the dietary need for potassium roughly equals that of sodium. It is also stated that muscular weakness, increased nervousness and irritability, mental disorientation and cardiac irregularities manifest potassium deficiency. Many people, especially in poorer countries, do not have access to sufficient amounts of fresh fruits and vegetables with the result that their dietary needs of potassium have to be met by alternative means.
Reference may be made to the paper by Adhikary et al. entitled “Deacidification of Fruit Juices by Electrodialysis—Part II” (Ind. J. Technol. 25, 1987, 24-27) wherein it is reported that grape, pineapple and orange juices have 3173 ppm, 1500 ppm and 3150 ppm KCl, respectively whereas the NaCl concentrations are very low (<100 ppm) in all the cases. KCl, therefore, is an important nutrient provided by fruit juices but poor people in many countries cannot afford such juices.
Reference is made to US Pre-grant publication No: 2005/0220975A1 and PCT Application No: PCT/IB 04/03678 wherein Ghosh et al. have disclosed the preparation of low sodium salt of botanic origin through use of halophytic plants which are rich in NaCl and Kappaphycus alvarezii seaweed which is rich in KCl. The dried seaweed is thrashed to yield a salt which is largely KCl and can be refined for the purpose of producing low sodium salt. No mention is made of preparation of health drink from the seaweed.
Reference may be made to any standard reference book on the subject of iodine wherein the importance of iodine as a micronutrient is discussed. It is stated that the daily requirement of iodine varies from 50-150 μg/day which iodine can be provided in various forms such as in the form of iodized salt, iodine rich animal and plant products, and in the form of iodinated water (http://www.extention.umn.edu/, University of Minnesota Extension Service home page). Seaweeds are a particularly rich source of iodine ((Mairh et al. 1989, Phytochemistry 28 (12), 3307-3310) which helps in prevention of iodine deficiency disorders but care must be taken to ensure that seaweeds do not deliver excessive quantities of iodine.
Reference may be made to the article by T. Cooke entitled “Heavy Metals, Water and Health” (www.envirotechpubs.com/articles/iet200511—040.pdf) wherein the permitted levels of certain toxic heavy metals (antimony, 5 ppb; arsenic, 10 ppb; cadmium, 5 ppb; chromium, 50 ppb; lead, 10 ppb; mercury, 1 ppb) in European drinking water are provided.
Reference is made to U.S. Pat. No. 6,893,479 wherein the integrated method for production of kappa carrageenan and liquid plant nutrient from fresh Kappaphycus alvarezii seaweed has been disclosed by Eswaran et al. In this method the freshly harvested seaweed—which contains more than 90% by weight of water—is liquefied through a shearing action and the resultant slurry is filtered to yield the plant sap and a residue containing all of the kappa carrageenan originally present in the seaweed. The sap, which is obtained as by-product in up to 80% of the fresh weight of the plant, contains high concentrations of KCl as well as inorganic micronutrients and also contains useful organic nutrients which show beneficial effects on plant growth. No mention is, however, made of preparation of health drink from the sap or of its potential use for this purpose.